Here is the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit or its events or its characters.
It took us a few hours, but we did make it to the shore that lays before the mountain. Most of the journey I spent chewing on the leaves, and trying to catch some sleep. I am grateful that Thorin has allowed me to wear his thick coat, for the air is very cold.
We leave the boat on the shore line, before making our way towards the mountain. Dwalin and Bilbo are keeping an extra close eye on me. I know that they are wondering what has been going on with me, but I still refuse to tell anyone. Pulling Thorin's coat even tighter around me, I begin to follow the path that the others are going.
After walking for the rest of the morning, we reach an over look. There before us sits the remains of the city of Dale.
"It looks eerie. Like at any moment a zombie will just pop out of nowhere." I say out loud without realizing it.
"A zombie?" Bilbo asks with fear in his voice. "What's a zombie?"
Seeing the others giving me a serious look I quickly respond to Bilbo's question. "Just ignore what I said Bilbo. You don't have those here. I was just thinking about stories from my childhood." Actually, I was thinking of how Dale looks similar to a few scenes from the movies Resident Evil and World War Z.
We take a quick food break before heading on towards the mountain. By mid-afternoon, we reach the mountain and I am starting to feel exhausted. The others are tired as well, but Thorin pushes us to keep an eye out for any signs of where the door might be located.
As I move to sit onto a boulder, I can't help but notice some zig-zag designs running up the mountain with the large statues. I allow my imagination to run with the possibility of using the zig-zag design to climb up the mountain. My eyes are now following the design up till I can see a small in cropping.
"Holy Shit!" I whisper to myself, and fluttering can be felt in my abdomen. I start to laugh out loud with my realization. The company looks at me as if I have grown a second head.
"Inara?" Balin asks me. "What is it?"
Thorin, Balin, Bilbo, and Dwalin all walk over to where I am sitting. Thorin squats down in front of me. "What is it?"
"How do you keep a hidden door secret?" I ask with a playful tone in my voice.
"This is no time for jokes, lass." Dwalin says in a gruff voice.
"You hide it in plain sight. As part," I get up off the rock and point to the zig-zag design before continuing, "of a design."
The other dwarves give me an astonished look as they too begin to notice the zig-zag design.
"Well done, Inara." Thorin says before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Move out."
We all hurry towards the base of the zig-zag design, and quickly decide how best to scale the mountain zig-zag path. Using some rope, we all tie ourselves to an even longer piece of rope. Thorin takes the front, while Gloin takes the rear. I am placed in the middle, in between Bilbo and Ori. It takes us most of the afternoon and evening hours to scale the mountain. Once we reach the end of the zig-zag path, we use the sculpture of Thror as our path, till we finally reach the alcove.
As I am untying myself from the longer rope, I notice that Thorin is quick to run up to the rock face.
"This has to be it." He says. "The hidden door. Let all those who doubted us rue this day."
Everyone cheers, but me. I know how long these dwarves have been waiting for this day. Yet, I can't shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen.
Dwalin begins to search for a key hole for the key to fit into. I sit down on the ground and watch as the company moves about in anticipation. Ori makes his way over to where I am, and sits down next to me.
"How are you feeling Inara?" he asks me with a slight blush on his cheeks.
"I am doing rather well, Ori. Thank you for asking." I reply in a happy tone.
As the sun begins to set, I see desperation starting to show in the company. They are all worried about not being able to find the key hole. Finally the last tendrils of sunlight disappear, and it seems like all hope is lost. The dwarves look defeated, especially Thorin.
"No!" Thorin shouts, as he walks back to the rock face. "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key hole. That is what it says. What did we miss?"
The other dwarves start to feel the anguish of not being able to find the keyhole in time. I, however, give Bilbo a look and he walks over to me. I tug on his coat sleeve and he bends down.
"They are forgetting about another heavenly body which also lights up the sky, just as much as the sun." I whisper to him with a smile on my face.
Bilbo gives me a quizzical look. I know. I could have easily told them about the moonlight, but I want Bilbo to have this moment. He thinks about it for a short bit, and just before the dwarves start to leave, he gets it.
"The moon. Moonlight!" Bilbo shouts. "We are forgetting about the moon!"
All the dwarves stare at him in shock, and I decide to stand up at this point. "He is right. The moon is also considered another form of light" I give Thorin a smile. "We just have to wait for the clouds to part and let in the moonlight."
So we wait till finally the clouds part and the moonlight comes through. As the moonlight reaches the rock face, a keyhole begins to magically appear. The company gives a cheer, and Balin is looking right at me in shock.
Thorin moves to were the keyhole has appeared in the door, and places the key into it. He turns it and once a click is heard, he pushes against the rock. A small crooked door opens us into a dark tunnel.
I walk over to where Thorin is standing and take his hand in mine. He turns his head to look at me, and I can see a smile on his face. "Erebor." He says to me.
"I know." I respond, and tighten my grip on his hand.
"Thorin." Balin says but he is too choked up with emotion to continue speaking.
Thorin gives Balin's should a slight squeeze with his free hand before starting to walk into the tunnel. I follow him in, still keeping a grip on his hand. Balin follows behind me and the rest come in single file.
"I know these walls. These halls. This stone." Thorin says as he touches the rock as though it was a long lost lover. "You remember it Balin? Chambers filled with golden light."
"I remember." Balin responds.
All the dwarves are now in the tunnel, but I am starting to become a bit worried about what comes next. I move a bit closer to where Thorin is, and I hear Gloin start to speak.
"Here in lies the seventh kingdom of Durin's folk. May the heart of the mountain unite all dwarves in defense of this home." Gloin say with reverence.
"The throne of the king." Balin says as he nods to Bilbo.
"And what is that, above it?" Bilbo asks Balin.
"The Arkenstone." Balin replies to Bilbo.
"Arkenstone." Bilbo says with wonder. "And what is that?"
"That, Master Burglar, is why you are here." Thorin says as he looks at Bilbo.
Bilbo notices that the dwarves have surrounded him, and he looks a bit nervous. I let go of Thorin's hand and walk over to him. I place a hand on his shoulder, and he turns to face me.
"You can do this Bilbo. Just believe in yourself, and you will succeed." I try to give him a smile, but it isn't convincing enough.
"Come laddie." Balin says to Bilbo. "I will walk you down to where you need to go." He says just before starting to lead Bilbo down the tunnel.
"I will come with you both." I say, but Thorin is quick to put a stop to it.
"Not you Inara. You will stay here with us." He moves to block my way. "I will not allow you to risk your life."
I cross my arms over my chest, and put on a defiant face. "Really. You are just going to allow Bilbo to go down there alone. Unprotected."
"He will be fine, Inara. You are too important to risk your life."
"So you are saying that Bilbo is unimportant? That my life is worth more than his." In all honesty my life probably was due to the pregnancy. "Unbelievable." I walk back up the tunnel and step outside to get some fresh air. For now, I was going to stay outside till I can cool down.
Mood swings are definitely getting worse. I lean against the rock wall, a little left from the door and away from the edge. "Great Mahal and all of the gods here, please hear my prayer. Keep Bilbo, the dwarves, and everyone in Laketown safe. I fear that the dragon will wake and everything will burn." I let out a shutter of breath and a few tears run down my face. "You blessed me with this." I place my hand on my stomach and continues to whisper up to the sky. "Tell me. What am I supposed to do? Why am I even here? Please give me guidance." I allow myself to slide down the wall till I am sitting on the ground. Just sitting there, I allow my mind to wander off for a long time.
It isn't long before the rest of the company comes out of the tunnel to wait for Bilbo. I quickly wipe my eyes and take a few deep breaths. Dwalin walks over to where I am sitting.
"You alright lass?" he asks me with concern.
"Yes. Just tired is all." I answer back.
Before Dwalin can say anything else, the ground beneath us shakes like an earthquake.
"Was that an earthquake?" Dori asks out loud.
"That my lad, was a dragon." Balin answers.
The ground shakes again, and Thorin looks over towards where Dwalin and I are. I stand up quickly and start heading for the door.
"Where do you think you are going?" Thorin asks as he marches towards me.
"To kill a dragon." I shout to him. "None of you understand, do you? Smaug was waiting for us. He knew we were coming. How? I don't know. But what I do know is that our friend, Bilbo, is in there right now, and he needs our help. So are you all going to behave like cowards by staying out here? Or are you going to be courageous; like I know that dwarves are."
The company looks at me in shock, while Thorin is giving me one hell of a dirty look. I know he is going to be angry with me over this, but I can't just leave Bilbo in there alone.
"We need to give him more time." Thorin says to the company.
"More time for what? To be killed." Balin states with absolute conviction. "You have changed, Thorin. I fear for you. There is a sickness that lies on that treasure. It drove you grandfather mad."
"I am not my grandfather." Thorin yells at Balin before walking up to him.
"No you are not." I yell at Thorin. "You are Thorin Oakenshield. You are your own person. But Balin is right. You have changed since we got here, Thorin. My husband would not stand around and do nothing, while a friend's life is in danger."
Thorin turns to face me, and I keep my eyes trained on him. He stalks over towards me, and Dwalin steps close to my side. Thorin stops when he sees that Dwalin is standing there, waiting for the moment to step in if necessary.
Before anyone can move, I make a break for it and run into the tunnel.
"Inara!" I can hear Thorin, Dwalin, Balin, and the others shouting my name. I don't stop running; I keep moving through the tunnels till I reach an open area with many staircases going through it. I quickly pull my hidden daggers out from my boots. Footsteps are quickly closing in on where I am standing, and soon I can hear Thorin's heavy breaths come up behind me.
At the same time, Bilbo comes running up from the stairs.
"Bilbo, you're alive!" I say with happiness in my voice.
"Not for much longer." Bilbo says as he starts heading to the tunnel.
"Did you find it?" Thorin asks him before moving to cut Bilbo off.
"The dragon is coming." Bilbo says to Thorin.
"The Arkenstone. Did you find it?"
"We have to get out." Bilbo says and makes for the tunnel entrance, but Thorin blocks him using his sword.
"Thorin!" I say quickly as I move to stand near Bilbo.
Thorin brings his sword up to Bilbo's chest and by doing so forces Bilbo to step back. I move quickly to stand in front of Bilbo, and that is when I see him. Smaug.
"Oh my god." I say with panic in my voice.
Thorin turns his head and sees Smaug as well. The dragon is huge, and I am surprised that I didn't shit my pants when I first saw him moments ago. Thorin moves to stand in front of me, and that is noticed by the dragon. Bilbo grabs my wrist and gently pulls me back to the stairs. The other dwarves soon appear and Smaug becomes even angrier.
"You will burn!" the dragon growls out as he charges at us. His belly turns bright with the incoming inferno.
"Go!" Thorin shouts before pulling me away from Bilbo.
We all jump down towards the gold below, and Thorin uses his body to shield my own from both the fall and the inferno. Dwalin pulls me up from the ground and leads me to another tunnel entrance.
"We can't leave Thorin behind!" I yell to Dwalin as we run through the tunnel.
"He will be alright lass." He replies before we reach what looks to be a small kitchen. He shoves me towards a corner, and Nori places himself in front of me as a shield.
Thorin comes rolling in with his fur coat on fire. He quickly pulls it off before Dwalin kicks it away once it is on the ground.
"Come on this way." Thorin says as he keeps moving.
Nori pulls me along with him as we follow with the rest of the group. We run through more passage ways till finally we come back to a wide open area.
"Shhh. Shhh." Thorin whispers as he gives a gesture meaning that we are to stop.
As I come to a stop, I feel a pain hit my abdomen. It isn't as hard as the other, but it makes me suck in my breath quickly. I stop myself from placing a hand to my stomach since no one knows the secret I carry. I had placed my daggers back in my boots just before we left the make shift kitchen. So I am somewhat weaponless.
"We have given him the slip." Dori says as he pats Thorin's shoulder.
"No. He is too cunning for that." Dwalin says before looking towards me.
I look at him for a moment, before turning away. I keep taking slow deep breaths to try and keep myself focused.
"So where to now?" Bilbo whispers.
"To the Western guard room. There may be a way out." Thorin says as he turns to look at us. His eyes lock onto mine, and I can see the real Thorin shining through. "Do you think you can make it, Inara?"
"Of course. The quicker we can get out of here, the better." I say to him.
"It is too high. We will never make it." Balin says in a tired voice.
"We have to risk it. It may be our only chance." Thorin says with conviction. He beckons me to come to him, so I walk over to him. He takes my hand before stepping out onto the pathway.
In a single file line we follow Thorin out onto the pathway. We move slowly to help keep the sound of our steps silent. Everyone is keeping an eye out for the dragon by looking left or right. I, however, remembering a certain scene from the Wrath of Khan, keep looking up and down.
As we keep moving it isn't long before a noise echoes through the open space. It was a coin hitting the ground. Everyone is looking around, but I look straight up. Right above us is Smaug, and another coin falls from the dragon's scales. I feel Thorin squeeze my hand, and I know that he is seeing exactly what I am seeing. I tear my eyes away from the dragon and look at Thorin. He gives me a slight nod, before he continues to walk. We finally make it to another tunnel, and begin to follow where it leads.
We finally reach to where Thorin is leading us, and the sight before our eyes is a hard one to see. Seeing the dead children, I quickly move to the wall before throwing up some bile. Bifur is at my side, helping to keep my hair out of my face.
"So that is it then?" Dwalin says from just inside the door way. "There is no way out."
I wave Bifur away once I am done throwing up. Taking a shaky breath, I step away from the wall, but I keep my back turned towards the dead bodies. I try in vain to keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks.
"The last of our kin." Balin says with sorrow. "They must have come here. Hoping beyond hope. We could try to reach the mines. We might last a few days."
"No." Thorin says. I hear his footsteps echo in the room. "I will not die like this. Cowering. Clawing for breath. We make for the forges."
"He will see us, sure as death." Dwalin replies to Thorin's suggestion.
"Not if we split up" I say from where I am standing by the wall. I take a deep breath before turning away from the wall. Everyone is now looking at me.
"We would never make it." Balin says to me.
"Yes we will." I say with a shaky breath.
"Some of us might." Thorin says out loud, backing me up on the idea. "Lead him to the forges. We kill the dragon. If this is to end in fire, then we will all burn together."
"Or we could have a nice dragon roast for dinner." I say with a little sarcastic humor, which does the trick and lightens the mood a little.
We break off into groups, and I am with Thorin, Bilbo, and Balin. We run out onto an open pathway, and I have one of my daggers in hand.
"Flee. Flee." Smaug's voice echoes through the air. "Run for your lives."
The four of us come to a stop as we see Smaug coming towards us.
"There is nowhere to hide."
Ori, Dori, and Bombur call out from another open pathway, and that draws Smaug's attention away from us. We make a run for it, and reach temporary cover. We run through more hallways and enter a large room.
"It is this way. Come on." Balin says as he heads to a door way.
"Thorin!" Both Bilbo and I shout together.
Thorin stops his run, and turns towards us. However, the thumping sounds of the dragon, stops him dead in his tracks.
"No." I whisper as I look quickly from Thorin to Smaug, then back to Thorin. I know that my face is betraying my fear for him.
"Follow Balin." Thorin shouts to Bilbo and me.
Bilbo grabs my wrist and pulls me towards Balin, who in turn pulls both of us to where ever he is headed. Balin pushes me deeper into the hallway as the dragons inferno ripples past us. The heat of it is so hot, that I swear I feel like I am about to melt. As the flames die down, Balin checks to see if Bilbo and I are okay. I give him a quick nod before we continue on.
Balin quickly leads Bilbo and I to the forges, where we meet up with most of the company. I am trying to catch my breath when I suddenly see Thorin come in with Nori.
"Thorin." I quickly say before I sprint over to him and throw my arms around him. "Don't you ever go where I can't follow."
His arms wrap around my tight before he whispers, "I could never leave you." Our quick reunion is short lived when Dwalin speaks.
"Thorin, this is never going to work. The furnaces are stone cold."
"He is right." Balin says in agreement with his brother. "There is no fire hot enough to set them ablaze."
Thorin releases me as we hear the roar of the dragon. We both look over to the grated entrance, before looking back at each other.
"You thinking what I am thinking?" I ask him with a smile on my face.
He smiles at me before saying, "Have we not a dragon, Balin?" Thorin starts to walk towards the grated entrance to taunt Smaug.
Dwalin however, pulls me aside quickly. "Head back towards the room over yonder, lass." He says quickly.
I quickly run towards where Dwalin told me to go. I know that the dwarves can handle the heat; but me being human means that I am more fragile. Once I get into the room, I move towards a corner and hunker down. I feel a blast of heat, then hear a few explosions coming from the furnaces.
I come out from the corner, but to my dismay I can hear the metal grates buckling. Then Balin, Dori, and Ori enter the room.
"What's going on?" I ask them.
"Making flash bombs." Ori says as the three of them scramble around the room, pulling certain items off of the shelves.
"Anything I can help with?" I ask Balin, as I take off Thorin's coat and toss it to the floor. I am sweating like crazy and taking off the coat helps a little.
"Here takes these." Balin says once he finishes adding the last ingredient to a few jars.
As I go reaching for the jars, I hear the painful screeches of the dragon, and a heated fog blows into the room. I grab what jars I can before leaving the room. Quickly I find an area, where I can throw the jars without having to worry about being seen. Once I see Smaug's head pass where I am, I quickly throw the jars at the dragon's body. However, it isn't enough and Smaug keeps heading towards Thorin
Some of the cable carts from up above, come crashing down onto Smaug. I take this chance run from my hiding spot and head towards Thorin and the others. Just as I reach them, Thorin tells us to lead Smaug to the gallery of the kings. Since I have no idea where that is, I look to the others to help lead the way. Balin takes charge and leads us to where Thorin said to go.
Once we arrive, I notice that Bilbo isn't with us. "Where is Bilbo?"
"Don't you worry about the hobbit, Inara." Dwalin says to me. "You stay out of sight of the dragon. Keep yourself hidden." He runs off with the others, while I quickly look to see where I could possibly hide.
It isn't long before I hear the thundering sound of Smaug coming that I start to panic a bit. I still haven't found a place to hide. So I run and hide behind one of the many pillars that make up the room. Once in the shadows, I hear fast moving footsteps echoing in the hall. Then there is a large explosion, with rocks and dust flying into the air. Smaug has arrived, and he is pissed.
"You think you could deceive me, barrel rider." He bellows out. "You have come from Laketown. It is some kind of scheming match between these filthy dwarves and those conniving miserable lake men. Those sniveling cowards with their long bows, and black arrows. Perhaps it is time that I paid them a visit."
As Smaug thunders down the hall, I hear Bilbo cry out "Wait! You can not go to Laketown."
I see Bilbo start walking towards the dragon and I can't let him go alone. So I leave my hiding spot and run towards Bilbo in an attempt to stop him. "Bilbo stop." I call out, before I finally reach him.
Smaug's movements stop for a short second before he whips around to look at the both of us. "You brought one of them with you." The dragon rumbles as he comes closer towards us. He looks very intently at me before speaking again. "Here I thought it was just you, barrel rider, who carries something far more precious."
I reach a hand down to grip Bilbo's wrist as I take a breath.
The dragon notices this before saying, "You care about them, do you? Perhaps I should pay them a visit, and you both can watch them die." Before thundering back towards the end of the hall.
"Here!" Thorin's voice echoes. "You witless worm"
I quickly pull Bilbo with me back towards the pillar I was hiding behind originally. We both hide behind it as we watch Smaug, turn back. As the show down between Thorin and Smaug continues, a very sharp pain rocks through me. Bilbo is quick to notice and helps me to the ground. I lean up against the pillar, and try taking deep breaths while refusing to let out a sound.
"You alright Inara?" Bilbo whispers to me. "What did Smaug mean a few minutes ago about you carrying something precious?"
I close my eyes as the pain gets stronger, and in the haze of the pain I have a lapse in judgement. My right hand moves to cup my stomach. I hear Bilbo let out a soft gasp, and when I open my eyes I can see the shock on his face.
"You mustn't tell anyone, Bilbo." I whisper to him in a pleading tone.
"But I thought you couldn't have any more children." He whispers back at me.
"So did I, but the Valar have their ways of doing the impossible. All I know is every time Thorin is in really bad danger, it is like our child knows it. The child moves and that is why I am in pain. I realized a few minutes ago that the two things are connected."
Bilbo is a bit flustered but doesn't respond to what I just told him. However, his attention is drawn away from me by the splashing of some kind of liquid. Whatever the dwarves did, it is not enough. Because Smaug still lives, and is now crashing through rocks to get to the outside world.
The pain has now subsided, and I get up off of the ground with Bilbo's help. We both go running out of where Smaug smashed through the rock to get outside. We keep running till we can get to the top of one of the smashed statues. We look towards where Laketown is; then we both look at each other.
"What have we done?" Both Bilbo and I say at the same time, before looking back towards Laketown.
Oh my goodness, this was a long chapter to write. I do hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry about following the movie more than the book. I had a hard time trying to write the book version for this bit. As for Smaug knowing about Inara's secret, that too will be explained in later chapters. I know, I am so mean for holding that information back.
Reviews are welcomed. Including the negative ones.
Selene